Two trips to Ohio in two weeks means that Midwestern eating is taking its toll on John’s and my weight. Aaaand, next weekend will be a butter and meat filled trip to Amish Country for our anniversary. So in between, we’re sticking with soups and salads for lunch and dinner for 5 days.
We hit up Panera for lunch yesterday on the way home from Cleveland, and I made a scallops salad recipe from Cooking Light for dinner. The wilted greens mean the definition of “salad” is stretched a bit, but it did all come together nicely. I added a bunch of spinach to beef up the green portion of the recipe, and a squeeze of lemon to add some acidity. If you’re looking to make this vegetarian, it’ll probably lose something without the bacon, but you could maybe add smoked paprika to sub?
1.5 pounds scallops
salt and pepper
tiny bit of sugar
2 tsp vegetable oil
2 slices bacon
2 bunches watercress
about 8 oz baby spinach
2 lemons, halved
1/2 cup shallots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced
2 splashes chicken broth
Heat 1 tsp oil in pan. Season scallops with salt, pepper and sugar. Cook half of your scallops, so not to crowd the pan (about 3 minutes on one side, 30 seconds on the other). Remove from pan, keep warm, and repeat with remaining oil and scallops.
In another pan, cook bacon until crisp – crumble. Keep about 2 tsp fat in pan. Sautee shallots and garlic until soft. Add spinach, watercress and chicken broth and wilt about 30 seconds.
Divide greens onto 4 plates. Serve with 1/4 scallops (about 4 large) and 1/4 of the crumbled bacon. Serve with lemon and squeeze lemon juice on top of salad to add brightness.
